Friday, October 28, 2016

Thereare
so many reasons I love my job. I love researching. I love writing. And this
week, especially, I love school visits.On Thursday and Friday, I was honored to learn and share with the fantastic grade 3-5 students at Thompson School in Arlington, MA. We compared our writing processes and discussed the challenges we faced as writers. We practiced my four-step revision process. And we talked about why, oh why, it took 10 long years for me to write No Monkeys, No Chocolate—and what inspired me not to give up.

My favorite moment was when this fifth grader showed me a visual model she had created to summarize the information and ideas in No Monkeys, No Chocolate.

But still, I wanted to dig deeper. And that’s why I was so
excited to hear about some new findings from Colleen Cruz, a staff developer at the Teachers College Reading and
Writing Project at Columbia University.Here’s what they found.

The best nonfiction writing occurs when early-elementary research
experiences are scaffolded as follows:

1. Organize and categorize
information(a) based on personal experiences (b) on a topic students care deeply
about

2. Organize, categorize, and
compare observations.

3. Conduct guided research.

4. Conduct cold research.

I’ll provide more details about
each of these steps over the next few weeks.

Friday, October 21, 2016

Longtime readers of this blog may remember that back in 2009,
my Monday strand was called "My Little Maple." Each week I photographed the sugar
maple tree outside my office window and made some observations. At the end of
the year, I used all the images to create this
video, showing how the tree changed over the course of the year.

Every autumn, I find myself looking back at the photos to
compare the foliage. I'm curious. How do the tree’s colors vary? Is the foliage at its
height earlier or later?

As the sun rose on Wednesday morning, I was gobsmacked by the
beauty of my little maple tree. I knew it was time to search for the old photos.

So here are images I took in 2009.

October 19, 2009

October 26, 2009

In 2010, I decided to take another set of photos. It was a dry year and, to me, the colors seemed more orange-y than usual. I wanted to do a comparison.

October 18, 2010

October 26, 2010

Turns out, I was right. I also discovered that the tree was at it's height earlier than in 2009.

The summer of 2016 brought a severe drought to most of Massachusetts,
and once again, I was wondering if that would affect the foliage.

Boy, did it! Just look at the 2016 photo. The leaves are a fiery orange, and the tree is at its height more than a week earlier. Wow!

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

The
term "creative nonfiction" was first used by Lee Gutkind in the 1980s
as a synonym for “narrative nonfiction.” Gutkind wished to convey the idea that
nonfiction wasn’t always dry and utilitarian. By employing such elements as character,
dialog, scene building, strong voice, innovative structure, point of view, and
literary devices, writers could craft
nonfiction that sings.

Over
the years, the term has come to be used more broadly, describing both
expository and narrative nonfiction that makes use of elements originally
considered as exclusive to fictional texts. And as result, most of the trade
nonfiction titles currently published for children include a mix of these
creative elements.

Biographies
and history books generally feature a narrative writing style and include central
characters, real dialog, and scene building. Science books often feature an
expository writing style and employ strong voice, point of view,
innovative structure, and carefully-crafted literary language that delights as
well as informs.

Never, never, never does creative
nonfiction refer to books that take creative liberties with the truth.
Everything must be accurate and verified through fastidious research. Any kind
of undocumented embellishment kicks a piece of writing out of the nonfiction
realm.

Friday, October 14, 2016

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that nonfiction
writing style is one of my favorite topics. Narrative nonfiction tells a story
or conveys an experience, and expository nonfiction explains, describes, or informs.

As I discussed here,
while some nonfiction writing is 100 percent expository, most narrative
nonfiction is actually a blend of narrative scenes and expository bridges. The ratio
of narrative to expository text ranges widely. Most biographies are burgeoning
with narrative scenes. Books about historical events often include a bit more
exposition. And at a certain, undefined tipping point, a book contains enough
expository sections that people routinely identify it as expository overall.

Still, many expository books feature narrative chapter
openers. One of my favorite books, The
Great Monkey Rescue by Sandra Markle, has a narrative beginning and
ending with an engaging expository center.

Sniffer
Dogs by Nancy Castaldo is expository overall, but it makes expert
use of occasional narrative sections to illustrate specific points. My book Hurricane Watch includes a short
narrative scene at the beginning and a large narrative chunk in the middle, as
I immerse readers in the action of the storm.

When Lunch Fights Back by Rebecca L.
Johnson includes alternating sections of narratives scenes of predator and prey
and expository behind-the-story explanations ofhow their behaviors help them survive—or not.

Neighborhood
Sharks by Katherine Roy is also a 50-50 mix with narratives that
show sharks close up and expository sections that provide fascinating
descriptions of the hunters’ body features and how they work.

In all of the books mentioned above, the authors hooked young
readers with a narrative opening. It’s a winning technique that works time and
again. So imagine my surprise when after reading the lyrical, luscious,
wonderfully mysterious 5-page expository opening of Giant Squid, I suddenly found myself plunged into a gripping
narrative scene that focuses on the squid’s fascinating feeding strategy.

With this bold choice, uber-talented author Candace Fleming broke
the mold. Here, for the first time I know of, a writer began her
narrative-expository hybrid with an expository passage. Was it the right
decision? You bet! It’s one of the most intriguing expository passages I’ve
ever read. It’s simply enchanting.

Taken as a whole, the book is a 50-50 mix consisting of three
narrative scenes and gorgeous expository descriptions that do more than link
one scene to the next. They bring us into the life and the world of one of
Earth’s least known creatures. Giant
Squid is definitely one of my favorite books of the year.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

It’s
a new term that some people are using to describe books that share a
significant amount of true information, but aren’t 100 percent accurate.

These
books include historical fiction, like the Dear America series or Brad Meltzer's Ordinary People Change the World series or the many
picture book biographies with some made-up dialog or events presented out of
chronological order to improve storytelling.

They
also include science-themed books, like The Magic School Bus series or Redwoods by Jason Chin. These books are
full or facts and explore science concepts, but they contain made-up
characters, fantastical art, or other embellishments.

In
some cases, taking creative liberties with true, documentable facts may be an
effective way to share ideas and information with young readers, but authors
and publishers need to be upfront with children. It’s important to let them
know what’s real and what’s not.

Friday, October 7, 2016

Just imagine how many words it would take to explain everything we
see in this solar system diagram:--the names of the planets, --the sizes of
the planets,--the colors of the planets,--the distance each planet is from the
sun,--the distance each planet is from the other planets. It's amazing that just one quick glance can convey so much information. That's why visuals—charts, diagrams, photos, illustrations—are such an important part of nonfiction writing. Of course, in a nonfiction book, everything in the words AND everything in the
pictures has to be 100 percent true. But because very few artists have
a strong science background, I need to review the artist's sketches for science-themed picture books very carefully for accuracy.

As
K-2 teachers at Middle Gate Elementary School in Newtown, CT, listened to me
describe the process of reviewing sketches for When Rain
Falls, they came up with a great idea for their students.

Problems with sketch: Three ladybugs probably wouldn't be so close together and all falling at the same time. A spider wouldn't sit on its web during a rainstorm.

Problems with art: The text says the ladybug falls off a blade of grass, so the words and pictures don't match.

Solution: It would be too time-consuming to change the art, so we changed the text to say that they ladybug is falling off a slippery stem.

First, students write nonfiction about a topic of their choice. Then children in
another class at the same grade level illustrate the text. Like professional authors and illustrators, they don't meet and they don't speak to one another.

When the drawings are done, the
original writer reviews the artist's work. Did the artist make any
factual errors? If so, how can the writer explain the problems clearly and
politely in writing?

This activity models the process nonfiction
authors go through when they review sketches created by an illustrator. What a great idea!

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Most
children's trade book editors say they believe that if a book includes such elements as invented
dialog, imagined scenes, or fictional POV characters, then it's fiction.

And
yet many picture book biographies include at least some of these elements. How
can that be? The answer surprised me, and it will probably surprise you too.

According
to many trade book editors, a biography is “an account of a person’s life,” but
it doesn’t have to be completely factual.

BUT
when it comes to fiction vs. nonfiction, the Library of Congress is
lenient and inconsistent. If a book is about a historical figure and mostly
true, the LOC generally classifies it as “juvenile literature,” which is the term
they use for all nonfiction books.

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About Me

Melissa Stewart is the award-winning author of more than 180 nonfiction books for children. Her lifelong fascination with the natural world led her to earn a B.S.
in biology and M.A. in science journalism. When Melissa isn’t writing or speaking to children or educators, she’s usually exploring natural places near her home or around the world.